Manchester City, Manchester United and Wolverhampton Wanderers are reportedly all facing the possibility of missing the start of next season and having no summer break due to their delayed European campaigns.
Premier League clubs will meet next week via a video conference to discuss when the 2020-21 season will begin and confirm dates for the new campaign.
The Sun reports that there are three realistic options that the Premier League are considering, with the weekends of August 22 and 29 as well as September 12 being discussed.
Several Premier League clubs are understood to prefer the September date, which would give them more time to prepare for the new campaign after a congested post-lockdown fixture list, and it would also make it more likely that fans will be allowed back into stadiums, giving clubs a greater income boost.
However, Premier League referees have been alerted to the likelihood that the new season would begin on the first provisional date in August, which could lead to City, United and Wolves not being able to restart their domestic campaigns along with every other club, if their respective Champions League and Europa League runs go all the way.
UEFA plan to host the Europa League final in Cologne on August 21 and the Champions League final in Lisbon two days later.
This would mean the Premier League trio having to play catch-up from the very beginning of next season, with no possibility of their players having any rest period between seasons, which could lead to significant injury repercussions as the new campaign progresses.
Oliver Thomas
